Saturday, Dec 19th

Prayer is the act of a beggar. The word itself literally means asking. At Mercy, we are surrounded by begging, in all its variety–bold and brash and cunning and subtle. As a community, we have embraced our identity as beggars, too. We would have no food in our pantry or clothes in our closet or a roof to shelter us or electricity to make a meal, if we did not beg. St. Francis and Paul and Jesus himself show us that the way of the beggar can be a faithful way of living in relationship to God and to our neighbors. It may scandalize us, but the real scandal is to think that we are not beggars. The truth is we have nothing that is not gift. Even what we say we ‘earn’ by the sweat of our brow would not be possible without the blessing of God–and very often, not without the cooperation and help of others. This is the radical message of grace, taken at its full measure. Paul simply reminds us that the posture of prayer is to acknowledge our dependence upon God–and all of God’s many gifts–by asking, through ‘supplication,’ making ‘request,’ and above all, with ‘thanksgiving.’